Another year, another sobering weekend in April for Munster. Once again the two-time Heineken Cup winners advanced to the last four in Europe only to be dominated at the penultimate stage. Munster were missing two Ireland internationals in the form of Joey Carbery and Keith Earls but they were roundly beaten by a Saracens side […]

7 years ago

The last time we saw Johnny Sexton on a rugby pitch it was a disaster. He was at the epicentre of Ireland’s metldown in Cardiff and nothing he was doing was working for him or his team. He kicked up and unders out on the full. He passed into touch. He had problems with his […]

7 years ago

Cardiff City manager Neil Warnock has likened Mohamed Salah to Olympic diver Tom Daly after his side’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday. Gini Wijnaldum opened the scoring for Liverpool in the second-half before James Milner sealed the win with a late penalty after Sean Morrisson fouled Salah in the box. Former Barcelona and England […]

7 years ago

It hasn’t been the smoothest of run ins for Leinster. A lot of their top players had to endure harsh reality checks after a sobering Six Nations. They’re wider players were humbled by both Edinburgh and Glasgow in the last month and they’re best player in Johnny Sexton had not played for the club since […]

7 years ago

Munster Rugby head coach Johann van Graan has said that his team will be back next season after losing 32-16 to Saracens in their Champions Cup semi-final on Saturday. Owen Farrell kicked six penalties while two tries from Mike Rhodes and Billy Vunipola were enough to see Saracens through to another Champions Cup final. For […]

7 years ago

Alistair Overeem picked up the 45th win of his MMA career with a devastating first round TKO of Alexey Oleinik at UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Oleinik in Russia on Saturday. Overeem dropped Oleinik with some big knees before finishing him on the ground with just 15 seconds to go in the opening round. knees from Alistair […]

7 years ago

It’s one of the best things about sport as a spectacle; how quickly it can turn. Ecstasy can quickly turn into agony. Belief to disbelief. A chance to no chance at all. Not many gave Munster a chance heading into a European semi-final without two of their best players in Joey Carbery and Keith Earls […]

7 years ago

Sheffield Wednesday forward Fernando Forestieri scored a screamer of an equaliser during the Owls’ trip to Carrow Road on Friday night. Forestieri attempted to drive by his defender, unsuccessfully, before winning the ball back, turning, and launching a shot into the top corner from distance to draw his side level after Marco Stiepermann gave the hosts […]

7 years ago

Jack Byrne’s strong season continues with another assist during Shamrock Rovers trip to Derry on Friday night. Byrne played through Aaron Greene for the Hoops opener in a lovely passage of play for the visitors that saw Greene sprint clear of the Derry City defence before tucking the ball into the bottom corner to give […]

7 years ago

Former Munster captain Paul O’Connell has said that he still needs to gain more experience as a coach before returning to the province. O’Connell joined French club Stade Francais last summer but will leave Paris after just one season after citing differences in the way the club runs things to how he would like to […]

7 years ago

Republic of Ireland forward Callum Robinson fired home a two goal brace as Preston thrashed Ipswich Town 4-0 at home. Ipswich are rooted to the bottom of the Championship table and will face demotion to League One next season with just four wins from 44 games this term while Preston snapped a four-game losing streak […]

7 years ago

Republic of Ireland duo David McGoldrick and Enda Stevens combined brilliantly to earn Sheffield United a valuable 2-0 win at home over Nottingham Forest. Forest centre-back Yohan Benalouane was sent off just after half-time before Sheffield opened the scoring through Mark Duffy and then Enda Stevens to secure the win. The win keeps pressure on […]

7 years ago

Watching Spurs advance to their first ever Champions League semi-final on Wednesday reminded us that the relative underdog always has a chance. Spurs, with their new billion pound stadium, aren’t exactly the David to Manchester City’s Goliath but this was still a team that had bought no players in the summer transfer window, facing a […]

7 years ago

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino led his club to their first ever Champions League semi-final with a 4-3 loss to Manchester City on Wednesday night. City advanced to the final four on aggregate thanks to three away goals and have now set up a semi-final meeting with Ajax following their win over Juventus. Pochettino has failed […]

7 years ago

Former Leinster and Ireland centre Gordon D’Arcy has said that some of the criticism Conor Murray received in the wake of Ireland’s Six Nations losses was harsh. Murray returned from a long-term neck injury in late November but struggled to get back up to speed with international rugby in the Six Nations. He played a […]

7 years ago

Rory Best said that the reception that he received from the Ulster fans following his British & Irish Lions snub in 2013 was one of his fondest memories at the club after announcing his decision to retire on Thursday. Best will retire from professional rugby after 15 years with Ulster where he has amassed 219 […]

7 years ago

Mohamed Salah’s agent Ramy Abbas Issa has shutdown rumours that his client could leave Liverpool. Salah signed a five-year contract last summer that will keep him at Anfield until 2023, however, Spanish publication AS reported that the Egyptian international wants to leave the club and plans to hand in a transfer request. Issa refuted the claim […]

7 years ago

Liverpool have unveiled their new home kit for next season as the club pays homage to former manager Bob Paisley with the design. Each kit will be inscribed with Paisley’s signature on the inside of the neck, and also includes a swing tag dedicated to his incredible achievements, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of his birth. […]

7 years ago

Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has said that Anthony Joshua will fight ‘absolutely anyone’ after Jarrell Miller tested positive for a metabolic modulator also known as cardarine and endurobol. The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) found an “adverse finding” in Miller’s testing with the Brooklyn native subsequently denied a boxing license by the New York State Athletic […]

7 years ago

Conor McGregor’s coach John Kavanagh has said that he’d be very surprised if the former two-weight world champion does not fight again. McGregor announced his retirement from the sport of MMA last month, seemingly shelving plans to fight this summer, as he toured the United States from Boston to Chicago to Miami and more. Kavanagh […]

7 years ago

The big cat is starting to purr. After an opening round of 70, Tiger Woods started to heat up on day two of The Masters at Augusta with birdies on holes four, six, nine and 11 before play was suspended on Friday due to inclement weather in the area. Play has been suspended due to […]

7 years ago

UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones has called out Israel Adesanya ahead of his interim middleweight world title fight against Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236. Adesanya [16-0] put together back-to-back wins over Derek Brunson and Anderson Silva to propel him into a title fight with Gastelum in the co-main event of UFC 236 and Jones, […]

7 years ago

The RFU will meet with England and Saracens forward Billy Vunipola after he reiterated his support of Wallabies back Israel Folau’s homophobic views. Folau posted a photo on Instagram earlier this week with the message: “Warning. Drunks, homosexuals, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists, idolators. Hell awaits you. Repent! Only Jesus saves.” It’s the second time […]

7 years ago

FFR President Bernard Laporte has said that he made Ireland head coach Joe Schmidt his number one target to replace Jacques Brunel after this year’s Rugby World Cup. French rugby clubs voted against having a foreign coach for the national team in a referendum on Friday with 59% of clubs opposing the idea in a referendum […]

7 years ago

Republic of Ireland and Blackburn Rovers defender Derrick Williams has said that he was massively affected by racial abuse he received online from a Rovers fan. Williams’ story follows a string of racial abuse incidents in football over the last month and the 26-year-old said that he was disappointed that anti-racism group Kick It Out did not […]

7 years ago

Liverpool have said that is the responsibility of those in positions of authority to act urgently to identify and then punish anyone committing a hate crime after winger Mohamed Salah was subjected to hateful chants by Chelsea fans on Thursday. Three Chelsea supporters were barred entry into the club’s Europa League tie against Slavia Prague […]

7 years ago

When Arsenal were at their peak under Arsene Wenger they played some of the most fluid football the Premier League has ever seen. The twilight years of Wenger’s time at the Emirates began to somewhat overshadow just how well some of his earlier teams played under him but eventually the Frenchman left, but his successor […]

7 years ago

The Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland have called for the FAI’s  finances to be forensically examined and the governance of the association completely overhauled. The FAI faced questions concerning corporate governance at the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport meeting on Wednesday. Committee Chairman Fergus O’Dowd told the FAI, ‘you need to think about regime change’ at […]

7 years ago

Ford have said that they are monitoring the FAI’s situation after Sport Ireland took the decision to suspend future funding to the Association. Sport Ireland cited earlier this week that the FAI have not complied with the clause which states that each organisation is to ‘notify Sport Ireland in writing without delay in the event of […]

7 years ago

Former UFC champion T.J. Dillashaw has accepted a two-year suspension for doping with the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) confirming the ban on Tuesday. USADA says Dillashaw tested positive for recombinant human erythropoietin, a synthetic hormone better known as EPO, with his suspension set to run until 18 January 2021 which would be exactly two years after […]

7 years ago

Craig O’Brien has had a bit of an unusual journey through boxing. He started off at eight-years-old and boxed out of the Corinthians Boxing Club in Mountjoy, Dublin, where he enjoyed a successful underage career before eventually leaving the sport at 16. O’Brien stopped training. He stopped competing. He lost multiple friends. He did a […]

7 years ago

Munster Rugby head coach Johann van Graan triggered a new two-year contract extension on Monday that will keep him in Limerick until June 2022. The South African has guided Munster to two Champions Cup semi-finals and a PRO14 semi-final since succeeding Rassie Erasmus as head coach last season and he richly deserves his contract extension, however, […]

7 years ago

Liverpool forward Luis Suarez was the club’s biggest ever transfer when he was sold to Barcelona in the summer of 2014. Suarez was sold to the Catalonians for a then club record €81 million, which has since been surpassed by the sale of Philippe Coutinho last season, but before he swapped the Premier League for […]

7 years ago

Former Germany defender Robert Huth has said that Marko Arnautovic would have some games that would make you want to rip your hair out. The West Ham striker got off to a flying start for the Hammers with four goals in his last seven games but he’s slowed up dramatically since the start of November. […]

7 years ago

Chelsea winger Eden Hazard scored one of the goals of the season against West Ham United on Monday as the Blues look to keep their top four hopes alive. A win for Chelsea would move Maurizio Sarri’s side up to third place in the league and Hazard’s silky opener has got the hosts off to […]

7 years ago

Sky Sports football pundits Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville have both picked Manchester United and Tottenham to finish inside the Premier League’s top four teams. There are currently just three points separating Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United with just six games to play. Finishing inside the top four gives clubs a chance to qualify […]

7 years ago

Former Wasps, England and Lions winger Christian Wade has signed for the Buffalo Bills after retiring from professional rugby last year. Wade was allocated to the Bills as part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program and has been slated as a potential running back on the field. We’ve been allocated RB Christian Wade as part […]

7 years ago

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar has said that he would consider a future role at Old Trafford after being linked with a return to the club as a sporting director. The 48-year-old began working as a marketing director for Ajax in late 2012 and later took over as the club’s CEO in […]

7 years ago

Joey Carbery and Johnny Sexton could both be in doubt for Munster’s and Leinster’s respective matches against Benetton Treviso and the Glasgow Warriors this week. Both players sat out their side’s return to the PRO14 last week as they continue to recover from respective hamstring and quad injuries while Munster head coach Johann van Graan confirmed on […]

7 years ago

Munster rugby second-row Tadhg Beirne is one of six players nominated for the Virgin Media Sports Supporters’ Player of the Year. Beirne has been nominated for the honour alongside Connacht’s Jack Carty, Ulster centre Will Addison and the Leinster trio of Cian Healy, James Lowe and James Ryan. The award will be presented in Dublin on […]

7 years ago

Manchester City and England winger Raheem Sterling has reportedly paid for 55o pupils at his former school in London to attend the FA Cup semi-final between Manchester City and Brighton at Wembley on Saturday. Sterling will be visited by students from the Ark Elvin Academy at Manchester City’s training complex before arrangements are made for […]

7 years ago

Rory O’Connor’s rise in hurling has been rapid. The St. Martin’s forward made his Wexford debut in the 2017 All-Ireland championship and started to embed himself within the yellowbellies setup over the last two seasons. O’Connor has been a fast riser but he does feel aggrieved at the U21 grade in hurling being moved to […]

7 years ago

Mayo forward Jason Doherty finally won some silverware for the Westerners after years of falling painfully short. Four All-Ireland visits and not a single national winners medal to show for it but against Kerry last weekend in the Division 1 final he finally bucked the trend and brought some silverware back west. “Listen, that great […]

7 years ago

Republic of Ireland striker Michael Obafemi has said that he was unfazed by the online abuse he received while he was weighing up his international future. Obafemi had represented the Ireland U19 team at underage level but had attracted interest from both England and Nigeria ahead of his Ireland debut against Denmark last year. While […]

7 years ago

Jack McGrath’s move to Ulster was the latest in a long line of interprovincial transfers with the Ireland international joining a host of fellow ex-Leinster players at the club. The defending European champions have undoubtedly been a huge supplier of talent to the other provinces but they have also taken in a couple of imports […]

7 years ago

Before Eric Donovan won his Irish featherweight title against Stephen McAfee last weekend, I asked him why he decided to go back into boxing after walking away from the sport. Donovan was a talented amateur but left the sport he once loved through a mix of injury, personal issues and other options available to him, including […]

7 years ago

Former Ulster Rugby winger Andrew Trimble has said that he thought that Jacob Stockdale played unbelievably well in Ulster’s 21-18 loss to Leinster on Saturday. Stockdale spilled what should have been a certain try after darting his way through the Leinster defence in a mistake that former Ireland captain Brian O’Driscoll labelled as unforgivable in […]

7 years ago

It was one of the big questions hanging over Liverpool’s late 2-1 win over Tottenham on Sunday. The Reds moved back to the top of the table thanks to a late own goal from Toby Alderweireld but their midfield trio of Jordan Henderson, James Milner and Gini Wijnaldum came under scrutiny with Liverpool having less […]

7 years ago

Saracens will welcome Munster to the Ricoh Arena while defending Champions Cup champions Leinster will once again match up with Toulouse in a replay of their Pool stage encounters. Once again, Leinster and Munster are back into the final four of the Heineken Champions Cup with Leinster seeing off Ulster in a thriller in the […]

7 years ago

TG4 analysts Aodán Mac Gearailt and Mark Harte have selected their team of the league season with the two panelists selecting three Mayo players in their final XV. Mayo won the Division 1 National League final on Sunday with a late win over Kerry at Croke Park with the Westerners winning their first league crown in […]

7 years ago